When it comes to the legals, you want specialists

And you want them to speak your language. We do that.

Our in-house legal team will guide you through the purchase, including collecting practice details (due diligence), protecting you with warranties in the sale purchase agreement, helping with your CQC application and supporting NHS contract transfers. All the expert advice you need - at competitive fixed fees. Find out more about our legal services.

Have you thought about insurance?

We know all about the risks and the best ways to protect your practice.

We can take a hands on approach to protecting your investment, through policies such as income protection, life cover and surgery insurance.

Registered buyer

The buying process

Whether it’s your first practice or your 21st, buying is always a big deal. Here’s how we handle the process. Of course, if you want more details, just pick up the phone and call us on 01904 670820.

1 Assessing the practice

First, let’s make sure this is the right practice for you. Whether you’re thinking associate-led or principal-led, we’ll take a look, talk it through and give you our advice. We’ll make sure you’re fully clued-up before you spend precious time viewing practices.

2 Finance

If you’ve chosen us to handle the finance, we’ll complete a report, including information about your income/expenditure and assets/liabilities, plus practice details and how the practice would work under your new ownership.

This lending report can then be sent to various health care specialist banks and we'll sift and select the most competitive offers for you.

3 Projections

Banks often ask for projections prepared by a specialist dental accountant. We’re a preferred accountant by a number of banks, so we can do this for you.

4 Legal work

The fine-toothed comb bit, making sure everything is as it should be. The solicitor will put in the relevant protections and advise you on everything you need.

5 Insurances

Banks insist on certain insurances, including adequate income protection and life cover for the loan. As independent financial advisors, we can prepare these for you. Another must-have is surgery insurance (a bit like a comprehensive buildings and contents policy) and we can put together a range of quotes for you.

6 Dental accountancy

Taking on a practice is the perfect time to instruct a specialist dental accountant. We have more than 800 dental clients, who love our expert advice. Chat to us about working for you or learn more about our dental accountancy services.

The finance process

The money side of things is always going to be detailed but it doesn’t need to be a headache. Here’s what to expect.

1 Price and terms

We put together a report that includes your information, details of the practice and how it would run under your ownership. This goes off to the banks and they come back with their best terms and charges. Approx 1 week

2 Agreement in principle

You choose which bank you want to go with and we’ll get a formal agreement in principle. Approx 1 week

3 Credit-backed decision (before valuation)

Onto your formal application. The bank manager will fill out their forms with you, gather all the information (s)he needs and do all the necessary credit searches. Approx 4 weeks

4 Valuation

The bank may ask for a valuation on the property and the business. Approx 4 weeks

5 Credit-backed decision (after valuation)

Valuation received, the banks will review it to make sure they’re still happy with the lending. Approx 2 weeks

6 Bank instruction

Finally, the bank will send instructions to the solicitor, to allow them to do the i’s and cross the t’s. Approx 4 weeks

Then the fun really begins

When you’re up and running in your dental practice, we’ll be here to support you in making it a roaring success.

Accountants, insurance experts and legal eagles. All specialists in working for dentists. What’s more, our wealth management team can help you thrive far beyond this practice, planning for your future and making the most of your new asset.

Our senior practice sales & legal team

Martyn Bradshaw

Martyn Bradshaw

Martyn leads the practice sales and valuations department and is a director of PFM Dental. Bringing more than 15 years experience as a practice valuer and sales agent, he’s passionate about achieving the maximum value and best terms for dentists selling their practice. Martyn is well respected within the dental industry as a leading advocate of profit-based valuation methods and a champion of highly ethical standards.

Samantha Hodgson

Samantha Hodgson

Samantha is a practice valuer and sales agent. With several years’ experience as a practice sales negotiator, she understands all the ins and outs of the sale process. Her days are spent helping vendors realise the best price for their practice and negotiating the best terms for their sale.

Laura Naylor

Laura Naylor

If you’re selling or buying your practice through PFM Dental, you’ll definitely get to know Laura. Her support to the sales and valuation team includes vendor and purchaser communications, marketing practices, coordinating viewings, handling with the offer process and dealing with solicitors and banks. Laura’s job is to help each sale go through as smoothly as possible, from start to finish.

Kelli Pollard

Kelli Pollard

Kelli provides sterling support to the valuation team, bringing her professional oversight to marketing documents. Kelli sets up new surgery insurance and practice overheads policies for relevant purchasers and clients. People can always tell that Kelli knows the dental industry inside out - it’s no surprise to discover she’s spent more than 10 years working in the sector.

John Romans

John Romans

If you’re selling or buying your practice through PFM Dental, you’re likely to get to know John well. His support to the sales and valuation team includes vendor and purchaser communications, marketing practices, coordinating viewings, handling with the offer process and dealing with solicitors and banks. John’s job is to help your sale go through as smoothly as possible, from start to finish.

Stephen Knowles

Stephen Knowles

With more than 15 years’ experience of helping dentists with their commercial legal needs, Stephen focuses on getting the job done quickly, correctly and with the minimum of fuss. When we ask our clients for feedback, they always praise the way he combines comprehensive knowledge of the sector with a friendly, approachable personality.

Stephen is a director of PFM Dental and leads the legal team.

Laura Dobson

Laura Dobson

Everyone who works with Laura enjoys her client-centred approach. Her favourite part of the job is listening carefully to a client’s needs and working out the best way of getting them where they want to be.

As a commercial solicitor, Laura has worked in a number of different sectors but she’ now dedicated exclusively to dental clients. Her role includes handling dental practice sales and purchases, as well as issues that crop up in the day-to-day running of a practice, such as partnership, expense share and associate agreements.

Laura Frensham

Laura Frensham

You’re likely to come across Laura if you ask PFM Dental to handle your property matters, whether part of a practice sale or a standalone issue. Laura has worked in commercial property since she qualified in 2012. She is experienced in dealing with acquisitions and disposals of freehold property, acting on behalf of both landlords and tenants in their leasehold matters (such as the grant of a new lease, lease renewal, surrender or assignment of a lease) and dealing with all aspects of commercial lending.

Adrian Tattersley

Adrian Tattersley

Everyone who meets Adrian during their work with PFM Dental is struck by his refreshing plain English style. He’s a chartered legal executive with more than 25 years’ experience in the legal services commercial property sector and has accumulated a wealth of commercial insight. What that means to clients is that you’ll get meaningful advice that drives to the kernel of any situation.

Clients have described Adrian as ‘a complete professional’ who ‘understands clients’ problems and provides practical solutions’.

We’re accredited experts for dentists

We pride ourselves on providing top notch professional services to our clients. We’re proud to tell you why we belong to these professional bodies.

The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) is the national trade body for brokers who arrange finance for businesses. NACFB promotes the highest industry and regulatory standards.

Chartered status is our industry’s gold standard for quality and integrity. No other financial planning firm offering advice exclusively for dentists has this badge of excellence.

Only recognised dental specialists can join The Association of Specialist Providers to Dentists. As members we’re guaranteed to understand dentists’ particular needs, problems and opportunities.

Lexcel is the Law Society’s quality mark for practice management and client care. It’s a voluntary standard that we’ve signed up to. The mark means we meet their high standards, giving you peace of mind.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) believes accountancy is a force for positive economic change and works to promote trust in business. Membership means we’ve passed a premium qualification and have access to its world-leading resources.